The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in the Campbell family.

Jack Campbell has his name and portrait immortalized in the Hansen All-America Room. He’s the best linebacker in the Kirk Ferentz era. He’s a Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Butkus winner and a Campbell winner. But there from the jump was his father Dave.

He’s a mountain of a man, too, and moved grown men against their will when he played guard at Northern Iowa. His Panther allegiance trickled down to Jack, who grew up going to games at the UNI-Dome with his dad and his old teammates.

Dave’s wife Jen is a New York Jets fan and Dave was a Minnesota Vikings fan growing up. But the NFL fandom was more by default — they were all UNI Panthers fans first. Dave and Jen raised a college football family.

“We followed college football a lot more than the NFL,” Dave said. “I think [Jack] became an Arizona Cardinal fan because of David Johnson and Kurt Warner — former Panthers on the team.”

The dream was to play on Saturdays. The reality is that Jack is going to play on Sundays.

“You turn on the TV and watch these players playing on Sunday and it’s just like, ‘Holy cow — next year I’ll be watching my kid,'” Campbell said. “When they’re little they want to tell you about their dreams and goals like all little kids do. And then to see all that hard work — it’s the best feeling ever.”

But with success comes critique — and Jack’s no exception. He ran a 4.65 40-yard dash (but killed every other area of the combine) and has been labeled an “average athlete” by numerous outlets. Doubt is inevitable with any NFL prospect.

“The people that doubt him should play quarterback or you can play running back and we’ll see what your doubts are at the end of the game because he’s going to be in on a number of tackles — and you’re going to be sore the next day,” Dave Campbell said.

“Whatever team drafts him knows what they’re going to get. He’s going to be all about effort and he’s going to have a high motor. Good things are going to happen.”

The Campbells aren’t doing anything extravagant for their draft watch party. There won’t be any Brett Favre moments, just Jack’s immediate family and some home-cooking in Cedar Falls — just the way he wanted it.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody. After all, Jack spent the weeks leading up to the draft chilling in a cold tub and hunting wild animals. But Dave’s just enjoying the ride as a proud dad, who will send a second child to the University of Iowa — Jack’s younger brother Drew.

Drew plays defensive end at Cedar Falls, and is committed to the team in 2024. His favorite player isn’t Jack, though — it’s Joe Evans, who pushed Drew to play for Iowa more than his brother did. But Iowa had a foot in the door, and one climactic event ensured Drew was making the right choice.

He saw what the Hawkeyes were all about firsthand — in a moment of tragedy. In the hours leading up to the Music City Bowl, Jack and Drew’s grandfather, William Smith Jr., passed away in a pedestrian-driver accident.

“[Drew] saw those coaches reaching out to us and they saw how much those coaches cared about our family,” Dave recalled. “I think he was really impressed with how much the coaches cared about the players as human beings. They were as sad as we were.”

Those Hawkeye coaches developed a three-star high school recruit with just a handful of offers into a blue chip NFL prospect. Jack’s father has no specific preference on a destination, but he hopes wherever he ends up to have similar principles to the program that molded Jack into the player he is today.

“I want him to be at a program that is still about football first,” Dave said. “I want them to care about character. I don’t think you build as a football player if you’re out in your shorts and t-shirt every day. I hope he goes to a program like Iowa where they take pride in physical play. During the week they’re going to work on that physical play, and that they care about their kids.

“If a kid needs a kick in the rear, I’m all for that. Once practice is over, those players are human beings and I want them to love my kid off the field. He enjoys that style of football, and that’s going to carry over on Sundays.”

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